Chapter 126: System Mission? The Six Great Holy Land Warriors!

Qing Zhu never imagined that he could not win against the sword intent; he couldn’t even withstand directly gazing at it for a moment.

Holding his Qing Zhu Sword, he concentrated his sword momentum and, facing Cao Xuan’s sword intent, could only slowly guide it, aligning it with his own sword momentum.

He swore to himself that this was the closest he had ever felt to the sword intent in all these years.

He had hoped to use this opportunity to comprehend the sword intent. “Could it be that my aptitude for swordsmanship is truly poor?”

He refused to believe this when criticized by the elder guardian, but being struck down by the sword intent of a peer made Qing Zhu genuinely question his own talent.

Fortunately, since this was a contest of wits rather than weapons, and no blades had been drawn, only his spirit was wounded by the sword intent. After half a day’s rest, he could recover fully without affecting his forthcoming breakthrough into the Golden Core stage.

Next came the duel between the two beauties, Meng Weizhi and Xiao Xuan’er. Since their battle did not involve a quota from Qing Yunxia Cave, neither unleashed their full fury, and the match ended with Meng Weizhi’s victory.

In the final championship contest, when the last two arenas collided, Meng Weizhi simply smiled faintly.

“Senior Brother Cao’s strength is unparalleled; naturally, I, your junior sister, humbly concede!”

“This is my Spirit Communication Talisman; I hope Senior Brother will take good care of me in the future!”

She cast a coquettish glance at Cao Xuan before turning to leave the stage.

Meng Weizhi did not expect Cao Xuan to pay her much attention. Even below the stage, many female disciples sneered quietly.

“He’s a Sword Immortal; how could a mundane woman catch his eye?”

No one refuted these remarks; in fact, many agreed.

The Sword Immortal was romantic and transcendent; ordinary women simply could not enter his gaze.

Just as everyone thought the Qing Yun Foundation Establishment Conference was coming to a close, Cao Xuan suddenly spoke:

“Fair maiden, please wait!”

At that moment, in Cao Xuan’s eyes, information about the maiden appeared vividly on his panel.

[Name: Meng Weizhi]

[Spiritual Root Attribute: Earth Spiritual Root, Stage Eight Tempering]

[Training Talent: Grade Seven]

[Multiplier: 120x]

[Cultivation: Peak Foundation Establishment Stage]

A multiplier of 120 times—higher than Bai Tianxiang’s 100x at mid-Golden Core stage.

But this made sense; Bai Tianxiang’s spiritual root was Earth Spiritual Root at Stage One Tempering, and her training talent was only Grade Nine.

Though Meng Weizhi was only at the peak Foundation Establishment stage, her future achievements would at least reach the Nascent Soul stage and beyond.

Current cultivation, future potential, talent, and spiritual root quality all influenced the maiden’s multiplier.

Aside from Xian Xiangqiu’s 3000x, Meng Weizhi was the only female cultivator with a multiplier above 100x whom Cao Xuan had any interaction with, so naturally, he would not miss this chance.

Meng Weizhi looked surprised, turning to face Cao Xuan and glancing around, fearing he had called the wrong person.

Cao Xuan pulled out a jade pendant, exquisitely crafted, and tossed it to her.

“This is a Spirit Link Jade Pendant I forged; its effect is similar to the Spirit Communication Talisman!”

Meng Weizhi hurriedly caught it, feeling as though she were in a dream.

It was as if a girl had plucked up the courage to hand her crush a note saying, “This is my WeChat ID,” secretly thinking she had no chance.

Yet the crush called her back, pulled out his phone, and said, “Beauty, just add me on WeChat directly!”

The sensation was so unreal that Meng Weizhi was still dazed after receiving the pendant.

But when she saw Cao Xuan turn and leave the stage, she suddenly leapt up.

Dressed in a lively red dress, she felt an unfamiliar stirring in her heart at that moment.

If before she had only hoped to befriend Cao Xuan, now she found herself thinking of more.

[Notification: Gifted Meng Weizhi with one Spirit Communication Jade Pendant; cashback in progress.]

[Notification: Meng Weizhi’s multiplier is 120x; two cashback options available!]

[Option One: Receive 120 Spirit Link Jade Pendants directly!]

[Option Two: Complete tasks to increase reward quality by 120 times, depending on task completion level!]

Though Cao Xuan had left the stage, his mind was still a bit baffled because his panel had just issued him a task.

Since obtaining the “Devoted Admirer System,” he had taken a laissez-faire approach, never having any specific demands.

To him, it was simply gifting jade pendants to the fair maidens, gaining cashback to improve himself, and at most increasing favor to gain more lottery chances.

Now, with an actual task, he knew he had to consider it carefully.

In the sky, Elder Qing Mu spoke: “The Qing Yun Foundation Establishment Conference concludes here!”

“I hope all present will remember your gains; face failures without losing your original aspirations; continue to ascend higher!”

“Do not become complacent in victory; understand that beyond the heavens are higher heavens, beyond people are greater people; cultivation is the foundation!”

“...”

“Finally, Cao Xuan, the champion, please follow me!”

After his rousing speech, Elder Qing Mu beckoned to Cao Xuan.

Cao Xuan did not hesitate. Though he wanted to glance back at the Qing Yun Sect disciples to greet them, he understood that the first-place winner of the Qing Yun Conference had the honor of an audience with the sect’s elder patriarch.

“I heard the Qing Yun Sect’s patriarch is at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.”

Cao Xuan felt a bit uneasy. Elder Qing Mu was lofty and exalted, while he was but a humble peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, with Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages above him.

These two stages alone represented thousands of years of cultivation in a cultivator’s lifespan; such a span was entirely normal.

In other words, between him and Elder Qing Mu lay at least a millennium of temporal disparity—and reality reflected this.

The history of the previous Chinese civilization was only about 5,000 years; it was as if he were communicating across eras between the modern and the ancients—that was the weight of time.

Cao Xuan nodded, raised his right hand in a sword finger, and instantly the Qing Yun Sword appeared beneath his feet.

Though he could not yet fly freely in the air at the Foundation Establishment stage, at least he could fly using his artifact.

As he rose into the air, Elder Qing Mu waved his sleeve, and the world spun in an instant.

Before Cao Xuan could react, he found himself standing inside a resplendent golden hall.

This was likely not Elder Qing Mu’s personal residence, for besides the patriarch, Cao Xuan saw six other distinguished figures, each with distinct expressions.

How did he know this? The panel revealed their information.

[Name: Liu Ruyan]

[Spiritual Root Attribute: Heavenly Spiritual Root, Stage Two Tempering]

[Training Talent: Grade Four]

[Multiplier: 2500x]

[Cultivation: Mid Refined Void Stage]

[Traits: Willow Leaf Boat, Stalactite-Like Sharpness, Desiring Female Asura Body]

—

[Name: Qing Yin]

[Spiritual Root Attribute: Heavenly Spiritual Root, Stage One Tempering]

[Training Talent: Grade Five]

[Multiplier: 2300x]

[Cultivation: Early Refined Void Stage]

[Traits: Clear Sword Heart, Water-Like Softness, Gentle Breeze Sword Body]

Seeing two Refined Void stage powerhouses, Cao Xuan immediately surmised that the other elders, scholars, and ethereal figures were also at Refined Void level.

“The patriarch of Qing Yun Sect in Central Plains is said to be at Nascent Soul Peak.”

“Then, aside from Elder Qing Mu who summoned me, the other six must be the strong figures from the six great sacred lands.”

“Could it be that the first-place winner of this Qing Yun Conference also has the chance to be summoned by the powerhouses of the six great sacred lands?”